The Purpose–Driven Life—Is it enough?
When a book on how to live a God–centered life hits No. 1 on The New York Times Bestseller List and sells over ten million copies in under two years, I sit up and take notice. And when a girlfriend from high school said that she loved poring over this same book, and newspaper articles discussing reading groups and overwhelming interest in it kept crossing my desk, I had to find out what was behind this fascination with The Purpose– Driven Life.
Rick Warren, the minister behind the "Purpose–Driven" phenomenon, is pastor of Saddleback Church, a Southern Baptist mega–church in Southern California with weekly attendance of more than 15,000. Warren is also the author of The Purpose–Driven Church, which has sold over a million copies in 20 languages and was selected as one of the "100 Christian Books That Changed the 20th Century."
Divided into six sections, The Purpose–Driven Life answers the question What on earth am I here for? by focusing on God's five purposes for each individual's life, saying that: (1) You Were Planned for God's Pleasure; (2) You Were Formed for God's Family; (3)You Were Created to Become Like Christ; (4) You Were Shaped for Serving God; and (5) You Were Made for a Mission.
The book has 40 chapters, each with a specific way for the reader to consider his or her purpose. Readers are encouraged to tackle only one chapter each day and really take its ideas to heart. For example, Chapter 16, "What Matters Most," concludes: "Point to Ponder: Life is all about love. Verse to Remember: 'The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself" ' (Galatians 5:14, New International Version). Question to Consider: Honestly, are relationships my first priority? How can I ensure that they are?"
These daily "Thinking About My Purpose" sections are filled with some important points and questions for anyone wanting to improve his or her life through a relationship with the Divine. As a busy working mom, I found the idea that I have "just enough time to do God's will" thought– provoking. "If you can't get it all done, it means you're trying to do more than God intended for you to do . . . "Warren writes (p. 31). While this wasn't a new idea to me, its presentation was fresh and inspiring, and I thought about it several times in the next few days.
Through most of the book I found myself noding and smiling, underlining passages that stood out to me. But often, near the end of each chapter,
I would stop agreeing and sometimes even write NO! in the margin. I consistently found myself disagreeing with Warren's theology and reasoning. One of his overarching themes is that God allows and even causes problems in our lives to teach us lessons or help us grow. That's a portrayal of God that I just cannot accept; it bears no resemblance to the God of pure Love that I've experienced in my own life.
By the end of the book it will be clear to the reader that Warren believes the main reason for Christian ministering to non–Christians is to save them from eternal damnation:
Heaven awaits those who accept Jesus, and hell those who do not. Again, being convinced in my heart that life is genuinely eternal, without any axe waiting to fall at my passing from earth, I found this focus disappointing. This view would take the joy out of a relationship with God and replace it with fear. So, is The Purpose–Driven Life worth spending 40 days of your life pondering, as the author hopes you will? Taking inspiring ideas at face value and setting aside the parts that aren't, the reader can glean some good ideas from this book. There is certainly food for thought within its pages. But I won't be sharing my copy as a must–read.
